The Sandman
The Sandman is one of the longest-time active criminals in Paradigm City. He has been a career criminal since the early 1980s, and has a long history with Genesis Because of his skill and experience he is thought of as one of the most dangerous criminals in the city and it's truly a wonder that he hasn't been nominated for the position of Primary Overlord long ago. Sandman has battled almost every superhero in Paradigm City, including the members of the original Defender's League. Thankfully he is a villain that despises killing, so he generally just stays within his comfort zone of beating the holy hell out of a foe and letting them limp home. Sandman's history and experience has made him one of the more well-known and respected criminals within the city. He even has his own wierd devotees and fans, which bewilders him as much as it does superheroes whom encounter members of his little'' fan club''. Origin Michael William Baker's rap sheet was first written on when he was a shocking 11 years old, when he was arrested for taking part in the armed robbery of a gas station in Galaxy View Terrace, Millennium City. Baker bounced around from foster parents to foster parents but there were never any capable of turning him from his life of crime. When Baker entered his teens his criminal history just got worse, as he began spending time and committing crimes with Chromatic Dragons, Creepshow, and the Ninth Streeters. In his late teens her fell in love with a sensible case worker, Marcia Hernandez, and conceived a child, Penny, with her. Despite this he was arrested multiple times on charges ranging from assault to vandalism. He was jailed several times, the last occasion being when he was 22. This final incarceration was the last time any law enforcment official would see him as a regular human being. While fleeing from authorities in Wideview, Baker stumbled and fell into a pit of sand being used as an experimental fusion disposal by Olympic Industries. Before the police could notify the scientists within the building the disposal unit was activated and, to all intents and purposes, Baker was vaporized. His life of petty crime had finally come to a sad and tragic end. Or so everyone thought. Somehow Baker's conciousness, some say his very soul, survived the experiment and was transferred to the sand in the pit. He was able to construct a body for himself and fled the pit. Frightened and confused by his new form he took refuse in one of the many abandoned factories in Wideview. He experimented with his new form the abilities that came with it, trying to figure out what to do next. When he learned that his daughter Penny had been diagnosed with Leukemia and Marcia was unable to pay the medical bills Baker decided to act. He robbed a bank and escaped with nearly half a million dollars. He gave the money to Marcia in secret, which she immediately put to use in the treatment of their sick child. When the money ran out Baker struck again, this time hitting the Bank of California in Millennium City's Citywalk district. This time superheroes were alerted, and Baker found himself squaring off against the heroes Sunspot and Lavender. The superheroes terrified him and he struck out more in blind panic than with any formulated strategy but even still he managed to defeat them and escape with almost $400,000 in cash. The fight was captured by the media, whom dubbed him The Sandman. Despite Baker's intervention Penny's disease claimed her young life, sending Baker into a downward spiral of grief. He began committing crimes and fighting superheroes just to have someone to take his frustrations and pain out on. Baker spent the next two decades as a career criminal, sometimes acting alone and sometimes as a part of a super-villain team. He has been a member of Terra Firma, The 4th Quarter, Olympic Industries, The Geodesics, and finally The Advent. When he grew tired of being a criminal Michael William Baker simply vanished. He was last seen heading toward Wideview, and was out of sight and then the public consciousness for five years. Nobody is quite sure why The Sandman came out of retirement. When he did, it was to take control of the criminal enterprises of The Promenade of Skyline City at the request of Mastermind. He shows no sign of any desire to retire or step down. The Sandman, Overlord "I don't want to hurt you, young fella. So why not just go home and rest up before you take on Doctor Destroyer or whoever you have a beef with?" The Sandman is one of the oldest and most respected career criminals in Paradigm City. He is a man haunted by tragedy and profound sorrow, both of which can been seen shadowing his dark brown eyes. He is by no means a killer, and refuses to act in any way or follow any orders that would result in someone's death. He has even openly defied Mastermind himself in this regard, and Mastermind has not only allowed the slight to pass by without consequence but has never again made such a request of The Sandman. That alone shows how much respect the Sandman has within the criminal community. Sandman is not above talking with superheroes, even if he is busy knocking them stupid. He comes across clearly as a man whom is a criminal not because he enjoys breaking the law but because he has nothing left to live for and doesn't care what happens to himself. Michael William Baker is a man who has lost the one person he cherished most in life and his broken heart has consumed him. The Sandman is a meta-human whose physical body has been replaced with organic sand. His physiology is astonishingly malleable. He is able to assume any geometric shape he desires, form his hands into over-sized hammers, maces, and clubs; and pour himself through the tiniest openings such as window screens. Because his body is no longer flesh and blood he does not require sleep, air, food, or drink. He cannot be affected by poisons, toxins, alcohol, drugs, or fatigue poisons. He cannot be affected by any kind of gas or chemical attack, nor is he affected by any ability that relies on physical characteristics such as power drains or power transfers. Physical attacks cannot harm him in any fashion and even most energy attacks do little to no damage. Popular myth says that he will turn to glass if super-heated or collapse into helpless mud if submerged in water; both are incorrect. The Sandman is capable of changing the density of his body from a mobile pile of sand into a substance three times as hard as marble. He can enlarge his hands enough to completely encase a foe's head and suffocate that foe but he rarely makes use of this peculiar tactic for fear of accidentally killing someone. He is able to add sand to his body and increase his mall and bulk; at his biggest he battled an entire super team in Skyline City's Beach district and absorbed enough sand from the beach into himself that he attained a height of fifty feet. He is blessed with meta-human strength, capable of lifting, in his normal six foot two size, of a whopping 80 tons. As a sand giant his strength increases exponentially. The Sandman is a very experienced and established criminal. His experience is such that he knows all of the players in the underworld community both new and old and is one of the very rare criminals that actually knows Mastermind's true identity. He is not above providing information to superheroes on a mission especially if that mission involves helping children or bringing a serial killer to justice. As has been mentioned previously, Sandman is not without his admirers. He has a noticeable cult following, many members of whom carry his likeness around in the form of shirts, hoodies, mugs, and mouse pads. He doesn't understand his fan base at all, especially when a few kids come running up to him in excitement to request a selfie with him or get his autograph. There is no doubt whatsoever that if The Sandman were to switch sides and become a superhero he would be an immensely popular one. Agents Sandman is one of the few Overlords that doesn't surround himself with agents. He receives his orders from Mastermind directly and tends to carry them out himself. On those rare occasions that the job is simply too much for one man to handle Sandman will make use of local Chromatic Dragons. One of the most remarkable of The Sandman's relationships is with the Heroes Unlimited core agent, Chinchilla. The two have battled many times but have also been seen sitting together talking. One such notable event occurred in early 2013 when, after a battle with a squadron of King Cobra's New Man Society agents--where Sandman happened to be present but didn't participate--he and Chinchilla were photographed by the press sitting together on the curb, the heroine leaning against Sandman tiredly, with her eyes closed. The photograph caused a sensation. The Sandman and Chinchilla have a very odd love/hate relationship that has yet to be investigated. Category:Overlords Category:Supervillains Category:Sandman